What is this thing called Escrow??

If you are first time home buyer OR even if you’ve bought and sold in in the past but it’s been forever-a-go… Knowing the key players in a real estate transaction is one of your keys to success.

Escrow is a third party to a real estate transaction. They are there to make sure everything during the closing proceeds smoothly, including the transfers of money and documents. Escrow protects all the relevant parties by ensuring that no funds and property change hands until all conditions in the agreement have been met.

Along the way, proper documentation is filed with the escrow officer as each step toward closing is completed.

Contingencies that might be part of the process could include home inspection, repairs, and other tasks that need to be accomplished by the buyer or seller. And every time one of those steps is completed, the buyer or seller signs off with a contingency release form; then the transaction moves on to the next step (and one step closer to closing).

Once all conditions are met and the deal is finalized, the money due to the sellers is transferred to them. Meanwhile an escrow officer clears (or records) the title, which means the buyer officially owns the home.